disaffection for schooling – “There can be no schools; there are only painters.” Although Darwin would prefer private support from collectors and other patrons of the arts, he would be glad to receive governmental support for his artistic endeavors. As every politician
knows who has lost an election, the best man or woman does not always win, and nice people tend to finish last. What a shame. Wherefore I plead for your support of the arts on equitable grounds; equity should preclude the exclusion of the model of the struggling artists to whom the honorable mayor and commissioners would
purportedly extend a hand up to if not a hand out.
Darwin Leon, as you can see from the enclosed copies of his paintings and drawings and his exhibition at www.darwinleon.com , is
definitely a can-do artist. That is to say that he can do it all, from classical to Renaissance to modern to postmodern, and he can do it well. Shortly after I moved to Miami Beach, I visited the studios of various artists-in-residence at ArtCenter/South Florida. On my way out I noticed Darwin Leon sketching at the front desk. I
was suitably impressed and asked to peruse his sketchbook. I was amazed by his drawings, not only because few artists can draw well nowadays, but also because his artful expression of the truth of the psychological reality beyond mundane reality, or surreality. He then showed me photographs of his neo-Renaissance work. He
fervently explained how modern art in its rebellion against tradition had eventually leapt off the cliff into meaninglessness, abandoning history altogether. He said he considered it his mission to help restore the integrity of history and give fine art a new life.
“Incredible!” I exclaimed to myself, “Here is an artist who knows what a concept is and has one that he believes in.” And to Darwin, “Where is your studio? I must have missed it.”
Darwin said he had applied for an artist-in-residence studio at the Art center on three occasions, but the juries of artists-in-residence and directors rejected his application. He was privately informed that his work was “not contemporary enough” for the Art Center, and
that it was “inadequate” and “inconsistent.” Not that his work was not consistently good. It simply did not fit into the direction art was taking in the compartments at ArtCenter/South Florida. However, he was grateful for the fact that he had been allowed to work the front desk and to teach at the Center’s art school. He said the
aesthetic conflict between his teaching and the general direction the school was taking had caused him to have a recurring dream: a vision of the Center’s buildings converted to an art academy, with this signage: New Art Academy.
Honorable commissioners, here is a suggestion, based on Darwin’s Dream, for Miami Beach’s evolutionary officials to consider: Purchase the property now occupied by ArtCenter/South Florida for the conversion of the buildings into an internationally renowned academy for
the fine arts. The current artists-in-residence can be happily relocated to the spaces provided by CANDO developers in return for tax incentives.
Mind you, that I certainly would not detract from the artistry we already have, nor would I defame the artsy events that bring thousands of tourists and many worthy artists to Miami Beach – some of their work is truly remarkable. However, we must face the awful reality
even though it is getting better: Miami and Miami Beach do not enjoy the best reputation among art collectors around the world. I recently encountered at Bass Museum a prominent art buyer from France. She said she included Miami on her annual buying trips, but did not expect much from Miami: “After all, this is Miami,” she
explained.
Perhaps we are too serene in our progress. “All is serene…yet doubts persist,” remarked Eugene Fromentin in Paris, 1864. “Don’t you see that there is room here for certain doubts…. We complain, we blame, we regret. We should like something better and would ask for
something more. We say that good works are rare, and the great no longer exist; that talent grows less in proportion as it multiplies…. We are tired of the mediocre, we should prefer the great. We say that curiosity has its limits…and that this periodic flood of six or seven thousand pictures converging every ten months upon the
same place and spreading over the same public will end by submerging the taste for the beautiful and drowning it in an inevitable weariness.” Fromentin, by the way, was not a radical artist in any sense of the word.
The “inevitable weariness” over the “mediocrity” in art and the repugnance for creative ideals is apparently related to the blighting of our culture. Darwin Leon believes the rebellion against traditional art and history went too far, leaving in its wake an unprincipled
wasteland where anyone with principles is called an anti-democratic fascist; wherefore his brand new, New Art movement. I abjured him to stow away his “anti-anti-art” diatribes lest he become his own enemy, and to simply paint his renaissance. “What good does it do an artist to complain about non-art? You might as well protest
against the pottery and kitchen utensils on Lincoln Road. Leave the words to me – I’ll write a wordy manifesto to please or irritate the intellectuals who want to impress the market with their wit.”
No doubt, Miami’s reputation for art is improving, and we do see some very fine art produced by local artists. We can improve reality all the more if we are willing to face it. Tax incentives for real estate developers may be a good thing if invested well. Nevertheless,
what struggling artists obviously need at once is cash in hand; they need a better market; they need buyers; fine artists need first-class buyers. That is why I am hitching a ride on the mayor’s pet promotion, and putting a real face on Miami Beach’s struggling artists.
Witness the embarrassing reality that Darwin Leon faces in Miami Beach as a struggling artist: Darwin is 34-years old. He lives with his wife Viviana and two young children, in far-flung Southwest Miami, in a small room where he paints. His income is approximately
$12,000 per year and is derived entirely from art instruction and painting. He recently lost his access to food stamps because of confusion over how to fill out the necessary forms – he took the term “non-employee” on his Form 1099 from ArtCenter/South Florida literally, crossed out the boxes that should have been filled in with
earnings figures and wrote a long explanation on the form to the effect that he was not an “employee.” In lieu of food stamps, he was given a list of organizations that hand out food.
Darwin is a Cuban-American, from Havana, an American citizen with a cosmopolitan |
